Legal and Ethical Issues in the Workplace
Barbara Pritchard
BUS 670: Legal Environment
Professor Gary Gentry
July 15, 2013
LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE
Abstract
In society today the business world presents many ethical issues. Organizations must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company’s vision. This will help employers in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be steady in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. Legal and ethical issues are dominant in today’s workplace. This is one reason why many companies have a legal
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This has created a positive environment in the workplace. Labor union contracts are usually approved with extensive restrictions. This gives management a commitment to fulfill on being ethically and legally conscientious.
The company spent $30 million to upgrade the hot dog manufacturing facilities, which began operating in February 2001. “However, the plant could end the year with fewer than the current 1,700 jobs because the ‘Lunchables’ division, with 110 jobs, is being moved to plants in Davenport, Iowa, and Fullerton, Calif.,” (Kades, 2002). Oscar Mayer put a twist on their traditional products. By making its XXL Hot Dogs larger and more flavorful than traditional dogs and their fully cooked bacon only takes 10 seconds in a microwave. Their lunchables fun snacks included: Oreo and Chips Ahoy! cookies, brands that Kraft added when it attained General Foods. Boca is offering an organic, self-rising frozen pizza.
Organizations are accountable to their employees, clients and shareholders. When unethical behavior is allowed to persist, it will undermine any established trust between these groups. Several business leaders agree that this type of behavior and attitude concerning ethical behavior has an effect on the organization. Because when the rules are broken, the free marketplace is in danger.
The Madison facility had an accident to occur on Dec. 23 that injured two mechanics, one was
The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.
Every business develops a set of ethical principles that they abide by. The business ethical principles intentions: it construct the business certainty in the community , maintain the employees liveried in what the business attempt to have as structural conducts and aid the employees consume principles to make ethical choices that guards the business. In a culture with a diverse assessment structure and augmented judgment visibly by companies with changeable ethics and interests, there appears to be further difficulties on business individuals to make tougher ethical assessments. In our day-to-day performances, we depend on on our ethical principles to monitor us in the correct path and do the correct things. The substance of any efficacious and perpetual business is they segment a mutual ethical matter concentrating on presenting and generating value along with allocating their business values with the citizens they network with on a day-to-day basis.
1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas
Write a four to five page paper addressing how your chosen work-related issue/problem from the week two discussion is addressed by your state Board of Nursing (BON) and other professional nursing organizations. Use the following guidelines and evaluation criteria.Include level-one APA headings in your paper using the section headings below. Use a minimum of five references from the professional nursing literature in the assigned course readings and other references in the Walden Library. In addition, you may use one or two professional web sites if relevant to your topic.Begin this paper with a brief paragraph that provides an overview of the assignment and its purpose. The heading for this paragraph is the same as the title of the paper. This should be no more than two to three sentences. The last sentence in this paragraph is a sentence that begins "The purpose of this paper is to. . . . The introductory paragraph is worth 20 points.
The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.
Ethics are values and principles that individuals use to govern his decisions and activities. Ethics are about moral judgment of an individual about right and wrong. In an organization, code of ethics refers to set of guiding principles and organizations use these principles in their policies, programs, and decisions for business. Within organizations, decisions are taken by groups or individuals and these decisions are influenced by the culture of the company. Decision making and relevance of ethics may also differ for nonprofit and for profit organizations. In contemporary business environment, organizations must have a clear ethical policy and implement it in proper manner. There are many social, legal and economic outcomes that company has to face in case of any ethical dilemma, so there must be a smart strategy to deal with ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we will address the ethics for nonprofit and profits organizations, ethical dilemmas being faced or faced by each of these companies and the outcomes of these ethical dilemmas. Critique of actions of each of these companies will be provided from the point of view of applicable philosophical theories of organizational ethics.
Also the importance of understanding ethics in a business is away of collecting lacking information of employees involved, like power or to helping to harm the employees, customers and everyone involved in the company. One of the most positive ethic roles a company is practicing giving to charity donation each year is practicing ethical behavior. The benefit of the company can allow additional taxes, and send a positive message. Therefore, the business can bring in a lot more customer’s, and increase a positive image towards the relationship with the business to allow the firm to bring in more new employees. Also business and personal ethics is a learning experience for young and through adulthood, is a practice through our daily lives. Some business give their employees information that contain statements, policies, and other responsibilities that all employee should follow. While these effects are if the employee refuse to respect the organization by following the business guidelines.
In the workplace as well as one’s personal life is essential for ethics to be maintained; often taking the right action is not always the most popular choice. It is important for maintaining an upstanding ethical code of conduct to be a productive individual as well as function as an employee in the workplace.
Businesses should make it imperative that its officers, directors and employees act at all times in an honest and ethical manner in connection with their service to that particular company. The principles of integrity and accountability are the cornerstone of that companies' success. This code of business conduct and ethics sets basic principles to guide all employees, officers, and directors of that particular company. All of the personnel and directors of that business should conduct themselves accordingly to avoid in fact and the appearance of improper behavior. Ethical business conduct calls for all companies and their personnel to assume responsibility for safeguarding and preserving that company's assets and resources in the
Ethical dilemmas are particularly sensitive issues in the workplace because the well-being of the individuals and the organization as a whole are at stake. Employees must feel as though they are being supported and not punished, and should not feel as though they were being put on display; their dignity should always remain intact. This paper examines how, as a high school principle, I would address the issue of one of the high school teachers becoming addicted to prescription drugs.
(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.
Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.
Personal values may conflict with ethical decision making if those personal values are different than the organizational norms of the business or institution. Constructing, and maintaining personal ethics in the workplace rests with the individual, and how willing he or she is in assimilating to the evolving cultural dynamic of the corporate world. Many times a person find their personal, cultural and/or organizational ethics conflicting and must reconcile a course of action that will mitigate cognitive dissonance. In order to be a productive member of society, in small groups and globally, one must reconcile these conflicts on a daily basis and continually move forward while maintaining personal integrity and
Every organization also has a profession responsibility to conduct business honestly and ethically. Our readings reported, “Experts estimated that U.S. companies lose about $600 billion a year from unethical and criminal behavior” Kinicki and Kreitner (2009). The organization could avoid having ethical issues by meeting the
In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important